Yale Leads Nation Again with 28 NCAA Public Recognition Awards

Apr 22, 2009

April 22, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -
Yale had 28 teams honored by the NCAA with Public Recognition Awards for their latest multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores Wednesday, seven more than any other school in the country. This is the fourth year in a row Yale has led the nation in teams recognized for high APR scores.

For the previous two years Yale led the nation with 28 Public Recognition Awards, four more than any other school each year. In 2006 Yale also led the nation, with 26 of its 29 teams that were eligible to be rated earning the award. These teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads nationwide in their respective sports.

The Public Recognition Awards are part of the broad NCAA Division I academic reform effort. The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. This year's APR is based on enrollment throughout the 2004-05 through 2007-08 academic years. The APR includes eligibility, retention and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. It awards two points each term to student-athletes who meet academic eligibility standards and who remain with the institution.

A team's APR is the total points earned by the team at a given time divided by the total points possible. The NCAA "commends" teams that have APR scores in the top 10 percent within their sport. The minimum score necessary for a Public Recognition Award ranges from 975 to 1000 (perfect), depending on the range of team scores nationwide within that sport.

This year a total of 767 teams across 211 Division I institutions were honored with the Public Recognition Awards. The Ivy League was the Division I conference with the largest number of honorees, with 144 teams receiving awards this year. Yale (28 teams) was followed by Brown (21), Dartmouth (21), Penn (19), Harvard (18), Princeton (18), Columbia (10) and Cornell (9).

Multiyear APR scores for all Division I sports teams, including the teams receiving Public Recognition Awards, will be announced Wednesday, May 6.